FORGED BY SCIENCE

Nearly twenty-five years of testing and development have resulted in the release of TIFTUF®, the new standard in drought-tolerant bermudagrass. Selected for superior drought and wear tolerance, TIFTUF® has been rigorously developed and tested since 1992 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Wayne Hanna and Dr. Brian Schwartz at the University of Georgia.

TIFTUF® was bred as one of 27,700 experimental bermudagrass genotypes. In 1999, ninety of the most promising genotypes were planted under a rainout shelter and evaluated through 2001 under deficit irrigation. Under this drought stress, TIFTUF® (tested as experimental name DT-1) maintained its quality and green color the longest.

The mechanism of TIFTUF®’s drought tolerance may be reduced water use, particularly in heavier soils. During testing, soil moisture remained consistently higher in TIFTUF® plots than in plots containing other bermudagrass varieties. In 2011, continuing drought study testing established that TIFTUF® used 38% less water and retained 95% more green leaf tissue during drought stress when compared to Tifway.

Prior to its release, TIFTUF® had been further tested in 19 drought-stress trials, 2 sports field wear tolerance trials, utilizing the Cady traffic simulator, and 4 irrigated, non-stress trials at The University of Georgia, The University of Florida, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University as part of the Federal Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant. It has now been determined that TIFTUF® will become the University research standard by which all drought tolerance will be determined.

In 2013, TIFTUF® was entered into the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) bermudagrass trials where it is being evaluated in 20 locations across the United States until 2017. NTEP results from 2014 reveal that TIFTUF® scored the highest quality ratings in the following test locations: North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and California. TIFTUF® also ranked in the highest statistical group for quality in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri.

Further testing has also revealed that TIFTUF® appears to have excellent cold tolerance in comparison to other bermudagrass varieties. In NTEP trials conducted at Haysville, Kansas in 2013 and 2014, TIFTUF® recorded over 90% survivability at -6 degrees F outperforming Tifway and Celebration common Bermuda. Kansas State University has also reported that TIFTUF® achieved 94% survival which is equal to Latitude 36, Yukon, Patriot and Riviera.

With ongoing evaluations being conducted through numerous University research collaborators, along with various golf course and athletic field organizations, it is expected that TIFTUF® performance breakthroughs should continue to surface. Combined with nearly 1,500 acres of TIFTUF® currently in production at over 30 locations nation-wide, this phenomenon has just started to take hold. So if you’re seeking a truly superior turfgrass for performance, aesthetics and sustainability, you’ve just found it.

TifTuf® is a trademark owned by The Turfgrass Group.

RESEARCH ARTICLES